The year of 2016 has definitely had an impact on our family.
Last year at this time moving to Haiti still seemed surreal. Maybe God was
going to change his mind at the last minute just waiting to see if we would
follow through on saying “yes” to his calling. Or maybe not… So we packed our
bags, wrapped up loose ends state side, rented our house, and said “see you
later” to friends and family.
In June we arrived in Haiti. The first three weeks were
spent at bootcamp learning Creole and about Haiti’s culture. Not only did we
learn a lot but we also made new friends and have a support system and
connections only God could have orchestrated.
We then headed to LaGonave and moved into our home as the
plumbers were wrapping up their last bit of work. This time feels like such a
blur as there was so much going on. The first few months consisted of
unpacking, teams, many knocks a day on the gate,
adjusting, getting to know where to buy what (no one stop shopping here!), and
meeting the Starfysh employees and the other missionaries on the island. 
Over the past six months we have grown in many ways and
continue to learn and adjust. There are less tears, a new “family” member, we
have somewhat found a “groove” per se for some family “normalcy”, we are
getting to know our neighbors, started attending a local church after attending
several, and working on understanding Starfysh better. Through this we have
worked through many struggles, found great friends, continue to meet new people, and recently celebrated the birth of an employee's baby.
Starfysh has been growing during this time as well. The new school was dedicated and is being used by four grades, teacher training and partnerships, and sponsorship started for the students at the school. Regarding the garden, additional land has been leased to grow more moringa and other plants and the training center has been built and is getting ready for training. Water filters continue to be followed up on and the fundraiser just ended to get more filters into homes.
Thank you for your support and prayers. This would not be possible without you!
Now to look forward to 2017 with hope!
